Round 18
Les Catalans Dragons 24 d. Warrington Wolves 22

2007 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: engage English Super League

Catalans hold on despite an epic Briers effort
Sun July 1, 2007
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Catalans Dragons held off battling Warrington Wolves to claim a narrow engage Super League win in sweltering conditions in Perpignan.

Warrington, inspired again by captain Lee Briers, twice led at the Gilbert Brutus Stadium but were ultimately worn down by the Dragons pack and paid for the lack of a cutting edge.

Briers scored two tries and 18 points in a fine individual display but it was the five-try Dragons who had the greater finishing power when it mattered in an entertaining contest.

Teenage winger Chris Riley could have snatched a Warrington win as he chased a Briers kick late on but he lost the ball stretching for the line under pressure from Thomas Bosc.

Both sides, separated by just a point in the lower reaches of the table, began the game in ferocious fashion with a number of tackles attracting the interest of referee Ashley Klein.

It was not until Wolves loose forward Ben Westwood was placed on report for a high tackle that the game began to settle down.

Catalans took the lead after 11 minutes when Casey McGuire kicked wide for Younes Khattabi to gather ahead of Brent Grose and touch down in the corner.

The physical presence of the Dragons made it difficult for Warrington to force their way back into the game but teenage star Kevin Penny was a constant threat to the home defence.

The 19-year-old was halted two metres short as the Wolves sought a quick reply but there was no stopping him as he intercepted a David Ferriol pass to race in after 24 minutes.

Briers' conversion gave Warrington the lead for the first time but it never looked like lasting long as the pacy Khattabi narrowly failed to bring in another McGuire kick.

Catalans reclaimed the lead on the half-hour as star scrum-half Stacey Jones stretched the Wolves defence to create the space for Ferriol to run in and atone for his earlier error.

Bosc converted for the first time but Penny continued to threaten and thought he was about to claim a second after a 70-metre break when he was pulled up for a Chris Bridge knock-on.

Warrington did manage to nose 12-10 in front against the run of play before the interval as Briers stole in for an opportunistic try and improved the score from in front of the posts.

Two penalties from Briers edged Wolves into a six-point lead early in the second half but playmaker Jones orchestrated the Dragons fightback as he made the room for Justin Wilson to power over from 20 metres.

Warrington were split open again soon after as Adam Mogg this time put Jason Croker through a gap 35 metres out.

Bosc added only his second goal to give the Dragons some breathing space but Warrington, and particularly Briers, were not yet beaten.

Briers, as so often throughout his career, was on hand to finish off after Jon Clarke broke from dummy-half and the skipper's fifth goal brought Warrington back within two points with 12 minutes remaining.

Briers almost capped a fine display by creating a dramatic winning try three minutes from time but Riley was unable to finish.

Report source: www.superleague.co.uk

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